Galea genovese

Arsenale della Repubblica di Genova e Museo Civico - Provenienza

ambito italiano

3382

Unità di misura: cm; Altezza: 150; Larghezza: 220; Lunghezza: 38

legno

The galea was a type of vessel used by European fleets until the early 19th century, although its ‘golden age’ coincided with the 16th-17th centuries. Its strong points - whose conception dates back to the ancient Greco-Roman triremes - did not change over the centuries: the possibility of sailing and rowing, its manoeuvrability, its shallow draught (that is, the submerged part of the hull), and its function as both merchant and military vessel: in fact, it could embark a few dozen ‘naval soldiers’, armed at one time with bows and arrows, then with crossbows, and finally with arquebuses and muskets; artillery pieces could be few and light, a shortcoming that eventually made the galley lose its centuries-old confrontation with the great vessels.